8/2/07
Gem Lake Dam Repair
In 2007, Gem Lake Reservoir remains
unfilled while Southern California Edison seals the
leaking arches of the 90-year old dam. Click here to read a
1926
engineering report on
the exposure of the dam's concrete to freeze/thaw damage (5.8 MB download).
Click here
to read a report on
the
hydropower history of the Mono Basin (2.8 MB).
Greg Reis Photo 7/21/07
Workers ride two cable railways and a barge
across Agnew Lake daily to get to the work site.
Greg Reis Photo 7/21/07
Railway, barge, horse, and foot are the
main methods of transportation between Highway 158 and
Gem Lake Dam along the Rush Creek Trail--just like 90 years ago.
Greg Reis Photo 7/21/07
The boundary of the Ansel Adams Wilderness
runs along the crest of the dam. The Minarets
Wilderness was created by Congress in 1964 and expanded and renamed in 1984.
Greg Reis Photo 7/21/07
The drained reservoir has exposed the area
that was clearcut along the shores of Rush Creek,
and the original "Gem o' the Mountains Lake" has resurfaced!
Greg Reis Photo 7/21/07
A small delta of sediment exists where Rush
Creek enters the upper end of the reservoir.
Greg Reis Photo 7/21/07
This waterfall is mostly submerged when the
reservoir is full.
Greg Reis Photo 7/21/07
There was opposition to the Rush Creek
Hydropower Project at the time of its construction. An article
entitled, "Are These Scenic Assets of California Doomed" makes an appeal to
motorists to save the scenic
waterfalls which were greatly diminished and at times dried up by the projects.
The left half of the page is
about Rush Creek. The right half concerns the preliminary work on the Lee Vining Creek project
and
suggests moving the Yosemite boundary to protect the scenic waterfalls from
"powerful Eastern financiers".
Click on the photo to enlarge.
Greg Reis Photo of Framed Article at Scenic
Area Visitor Center, 7/15/07. Apologies for the reflection of the camera flash.
Currently the hydropower project
operates under a license from the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission with conditions imposed by the US Forest Service. The license
was renewed in 1997
for 50 years. The project produces about 11 Megawatts of clean power,
enough to supply
about 9,000 people.
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